The Queensland Museum's chief executive officer, Professor Suzanne Miller says the 'Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures' collection from the National Museum, Kabul, is quite an extraordinary tale of survival and hope.

"This is, I think, one of the most special stories that I've ever come across," she says.

"Northern Afghanistan was a central mixing point on the Silk Road for over 4,000 years," she says, "everything coming from China and India, from Persia, from Mesopotamia, just from all over that part of the world.

"Basically we have material from the Bronze Age, to around about 1,800 years ago, so about over 2,000 years of history, from this incredible period."

The collection showcases over 230 priceless objects and some remarkable archaeological finds including jewellery and gold work of extraordinary beauty.

Farhad Sediqi from the National Museum in Kabul is responsible for keeping an eye on the collection for the five moths it is exhibited in Brisbane.

"The main idea of this exhibition is to just introduce the culture, civilisation, history art of Afghanistan for the world."

Mr Sediqi says the decision to exhibit the artefacts was made to introduce the real face of Afghanistan to people, so that others could see an alternative to what the world media currently broadcasts.

Hiding Treasure from the Taliban

It sounds like a scene from a movie, but the courageous bravery of a few men with the foresight to hide artefacts in secret vaults is what saved the most of Afghanistan's art history.

"Our museum was completely destroyed, we lost more than 70 pieces of our artefacts, the Taliban destroyed in our museums, more that 2,500 statues, which are very nice pieces," says Mr Sediqi.

"It was the art of the people of Afghanistan and it was really precious and important."

Professor Suzanne Miller says when the Taliban invaded Kabul there was not just a massive risk but a certainty that the collections would be destroyed.

"The men who kept silent for 14 years while the pieces were hidden did so at great personal risk to them and their families," she said.

Professor Miller says that despite the city of Kabul being bombed to obliteration, it is quite extraordinary that the glass objects survived.

"The director and curators in the museum took a number of really exquisite pieces, the pieces they thought were most significant, they hid them in secret vaults beneath the Presidential Palace."

Mr Sediqi says, "It's really sad for everyone, especially for our young generations, so it was really sad when we lost these artefacts."

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul on show at Queensland Museum, Cnr Melbourne & Grey Streets, South Bank, Brisbane from September 5, 2013 until January 27, 2014